Hermione's ToDo List
by thefuturemrsweasley
Summary: On the night of her 24th birthday Hermione finds a to-do list she wrote when she was a little girl. She was never one to turn down a challenge and this is no exception as Hermione attempts to accomplish the 25 items before her 25th birthday. CHAPTER FIVE!
1. Chapter 1

Heyy everyone! This is a story that has been floating around in my head recently so I've decided to give it some life and see how it goes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer-I am not JK Rowling…sadly…

**Finding the List **

It was a cool day in London. A bushy haired young woman wrapped her cloak tightly around her as she hurried down the cobbled street. She slipped quickly into what appeared to be a café of sorts. Once inside she made her way past the tables and toward the fireplace. Her cloak soon was slipped off and was laid neatly down on the couch. The young woman than took a seat on the couch holding her hands up by the fire.

"Hmm…" the sighed smiling as the fire warmed her. She closed her eyes and was lost in her thoughts for a few moments before a pair of hands grabbed her from behind.

"Hermione!" the lanky red head practically screamed in her ear as he hugged her from behind.

"Ronald, I'm right here." Hermione playfully laughed as she jumped off the couch and hugged him properly. Hermione looked at him thoughtfully, it had been nearly a month since they last saw each other and again it seemed as though he had grown another inch. His red was short and spiky and his face was very tan. Ron was now the Keeper for the Chudley Cannons and almost all of time was spent practicing or actually at a game. His arms were nice and lean and his torso was nicely defined from all the playing. He still had the same boyish face and long nose from school.

The two pulled out of their hug and Hermione saw her other two best friends standing behind Ron holding hands, Harry and Ginny. Harry and Ginny had now been dating for years and were currently engaged. Harry worked as the Head of the Auror Department and Ginny was a Healer. Harry's hair was shaggy and hung in front of his eyes, he was still much shorter than Ron but taller than Hermione. Ginny was long and lean with thick red hair and a sprinkling of freckles. Her tiny hand fit perfectly inside of Harry's and Hermione couldn't help but beam at her two friends. They had lost a lot in the war but the two of them made it through all of that and were still madly in love with each other to this day.

The four friends were all meeting today for a celebration. Today marked Hermione's twenty-fourth birthday and she wanted nothing more than to spend it with her three closest friends. Since all of them had such demanding jobs they didn't get to see each other as often as they would like. Though her and Harry met for lunch at least once a week since they both worked in the Ministry. Hermione was the Head of Magical Creature Welfare and overseer of S.P.E.W.. Hermione had grown into her hair…sort of. It was still rather bushy but she had let it 

grow out some so it relaxed it a bit. She was even wearing a little bit of makeup, nothing crazy just some blush and mascara but it was really all she needed.

The four of them spent hours in the café catching up and remembering the good times at Hogwarts. As for gifts Ginny bought Hermione some really nice tops and a couple skirts because she said Hermione needed to show off her great body. Ron got Hermione a leather bound journal that you could even keep pensives in. Harry got her a collectors set of quills and her favorite muggle movie, Casablanca. All in all it was the dream birthday Hermione had hoped for.

Hermione had just moved into a new flat on Diagon Alley and was still in the process of unpacking. She decided she wasn't too tired and would unpack some boxes. Her little library room was stuffed with boxes so she started there. The place wasn't very homey yet so she went with unpacking pictures and pulling out photo albums. After that came dishes and some other odds and ends before she called it a night.

While relaxing on the couch she decided to flip through a photo album that she hadn't looked at in ages; it had all sorts of pictures from before her Hogwarts days. As she pulled the album off the table a piece of paper fell out. Hermione picked up curiously and unfolded it.

25 Things To Do Before I Turn 25

25. See the Seven Wonders of the World

24. Call in sick when you're perfectly fine

23. Send a message in a bottle

22. Learn to ballroom dance

21. Cloud gaze

20. Jump off a waterfall

19. Go to America

18. Name a star

17. Build a snowman

16. Share a kiss in the rain

15. Buy something I don't need

14. Learn a foreign language

13. Get a photo in a photo booth

12. Play board games for an entire day

11. Go camping

10. Drive a car

9. Visit Disney World

8. Find a long lost friend

7. Conquer a fear

6. Sing in front of an audience

5. Do something you love

4. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower

3. Do something out of the ordinary

2. Eat spaghetti like Lady and the Tramp

1. FALL IN LOVE

A small smile spread across Hermione's face as she finished reading through the list. This was one of the last class assignments she had done as a muggle. She was so little and some of the stuff on the list made her chuckle. And at the same time some of it seemed so mature. She looked over it one more time and realized how much had changed since then and how much she had changed since then. She was only twenty-four and had already fought in a war and lost so many people who were close to her. For the third time Hermione looked over the list but this time there was a certain amount of determination on her face. She was never one to back down from a challenge and well she did have a year left to accomplish everything on this list. And who knows maybe she'll fall in love. With her mind made up Hermione tucked the list into her bag and went to bed determined to conquer everything on the list within the next year.


	2. Chapter 2

_I would like to thank all my reviewers once again for their kind words. Here is chapter two and our first glimpse of Hermione tackling the list and we get to see Fred, so it's an awesome chapter haha_

**Out of the Ordinary **

Hermione woke the next morning with a feeling that her 24th year was going to be the best yet. She wanted to start things off right so after showering and making some eggs for breakfast she pulled out her list as she ate. Immediately her eyes were drawn to number 3- do something out of the ordinary. She put the list down and thought for a moment, what's something no one would ever think of me doing? For a minute nothing came to her and then a huge grin spread across her face-she could prank someone! It would be perfect she would go to the twins shop this afternoon and get their suggestion on a prank for Harry and Ron. Hermione finished up her last bit of unpacking and grabbed her robe and apparated to the shop.

Weasley Wizarding Wheezes was easily the silliest and grandest building on the street. It was bright purple with lime green detailing. Hermione couldn't help but smile as she neared the door. Her and the twins were never incredibly close but they were far from strangers. She admired the effort they put into their joke work, she just wished they had put that same effort into their school work. Hermione walked through the front door and kept her eyes peeled for flaming red hair amongst the crowd. It must have been a Hogsmeade visit because there were students everywhere and this was clearly the place to come. Hermione weeded her way through the crowd hearing some whispers of, "Oh my God that's Hermione Granger, that's Harry Potter's best friend!" Hermione smiled and continued pushing her way through the crowd. Finally she spotted Fred towards the back putting new stock on the shelves.

"Hey stranger." Hermione said brightly.

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Fred gaped pleasantly surprised.

Hermione scowled but smiled, "Nice to see you too Fred."

"Sorry, I'm just not used to seeing you here…and seemingly alone as well." Fred raised an eyebrow.

"Ah yes, I'm here alone I was hoping you could help me out with something."

Fred looked taken back, "Well, there could only be one thing you're asking me for help with…so who are the unlucky victims?" Fred asked with a lopsided grin.

Hermione laughed, "Harry and Ron."

Fred looked impressed, "So what did my git of a brother and the Boy Wonder do to be feeling your wrath?"

Hermione shrugged, "Nothing, I just felt like doing something out of the ordinary."

Fred nearly dropped the product he was holding, "A prank for no other reason than to prank, Hermione I think you've stolen my heart."

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes, "So what are your suggestions?"

Fred thoughtfully placed a finger on his chin, "I think I have just the product, it's brand new. Basically it's all of our candy products in the form of liquid. You can inject it into a food product and that food will take on the properties of the candy."

Hermione looked impressed, "That's genius Fred; I think you've just stolen my heart."

Fred beamed, "Here I'll go grab you a couple boxes from the back."

Hermione explored the rest of the store while Fred was in the back, she wondered where George was she hadn't seen him yet. A couple minutes later Fred returned holding two mixed boxes of the liquid potions.

"This will be perfect, I'll buy some candies and send them as thank you's for my birthday. I'll just have to owl Ginny so she knows not to eat any." Hermione laughed.

"Oh yeah, you're now what twenty-four right?"

"Yup, very old now." Hermione joked.

"You really are after my heart Granger." Hermione shook her head, "So how much?"

"It's on the house, you're practically family and consider it a birthday gift from me and George."

"Aw, thank you! Speaking of George where is he?"

"Oh he's actually taking care of some um personal business if you get my drift."

"Ohh." Hermione said with a dawn of realization. George had been dating Katie Bell for the last six months and things seemed pretty serious so Hermione assumed he must be with her.

"So yeah, I'm stuck with the crazy kids."

"Oh wow that's crazy, would you like some help for a couple hours, I really don't have anything to do I wouldn't mind helping you out if you needed it, you did just help me."

Fred smiled, "That would be great."

For the next couple hours Hermione and Fred put some new stock out on the shelves, rang up customers and caught up on their lives. Like Hermione Fred wasn't seeing anyone, he was too wrapped up in work and no one really caught his eye. Fred asked her about her work and he seemed genuinely interested in her work. The crowd died down after a few hours as the kids headed back to Hogwarts.

"Well that was exhausting." Hermione sighed as she took a seat on the counter.

"You should see it over the holidays." Fred sighed joining her on the counter.

Hermione shook her head, "I'd rather not think about that."

Fred laughed, "Yeah, it's no picnic. But this year we'll be taking some time off for the wedding."

Hermione smiled dreamily, Ginny and Harry had decided to wed on Christmas Eve it was so romantic, "I am so excited for the wedding, it's going to be so much fun."

"Yeah George and I have some exciting things planned for this one." A devious grin spread across his face.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Please don't ruin this special day for your only sister."

Fred feigned offense, "I would never _ruin_ it only make it more interesting."

Hermione laughed and hopped off the counter, "Well, I should get going I need to go buy a couple boxes of chocolates."

"I'll join ya if you don't mind, I need to get out of this shop."

"Sure."

Fred and Hermione walked around Hogsmeade checking out the shops and Hermione picked up some chocolates that she knew Harry and Ron would love. She looked down at her watch and could not believe she had been there for about five hours, it was six o'clock already.

"Oh my god, I can't belive how late it is already."

"Well, I am wonderful company." Fred said with his lopsided grin.

Hermione giggled, "Well I can't argue with that but I really should get going, I have work in the morning."

"Same here." Fred said with a fake yawn, "But listen Hermione, don't be a stranger you're a lot more fun than I ever realized."

Hermione's eyes widened, "You are such a prat."

Fred laughed, "You know I was only teasing you."

"Well, I promise to no longer be a stranger…and to be more fun."

"That's the spirit." Fred said hugging her.

Hermione apparated back to her apartment and jumped into bed.


	3. Chapter 3

So I realized a problem with chapter one, I accidently submitted it without changing one of the items on the list. Number five which was write her life story is now do something you love. She's only 25 so it would be kind of silly for her to write her life story this early in life… though she does have plenty to write lol.

**When Friends Become Partners**

A few days later Hermione was relaxing in her loft after work. So far she had only completed one item on the list but couldn't figure out what would be a good one to tackle next. She was feeling good about the list though since the first had gone over without a hitch. Harry sprouted wings while Ginny laughed at him. And Ron sprouted boils during his Quidditch practice. Thankfully the boys weren't annoyed they actually found it rather amusing. Neither of them had ever seen it coming which made it all the more better. Hermione grinned to herself; she did enjoy doing things out of the ordinary.

Hermione relaxed on her couch sipping some tea; it had been a long day of work. Not that it was rough or even hard but Hermione began to find it incredibly boring. She had such high hopes working at the Ministry now that Kingsly was the Minister. But her department was rather dull. She never left feeling as though she had done much and since the war had ended all creatures were experiencing much more freedom than previously. Still there was work to be done but Hermione did not enjoy it much. She actually missed the hands on aspect of wizardry; making potions and casting spells. Hermione thought of the twins and how fulfilling they must find their job to be; they get to make potions all the time and their work requires creativity and resourcefulness. Part of her actually wished she could work at the shop; she did have a blast there that weekend.

Hermione shook her head at the crazy thought and got up. She had to be at the Burrow in about an hour for dinner. She took a shower and put out nice grey pants with silky blouse. She used a hair straightening potion that Ginny told her about. Then she threw on some mascara and blush grabbed a pair of shoes and was ready to go. Before she stepped out she grabbed her list and crossed out number three. Her eyes were than drawn to number five, do something you love. This was a sign, a sign that she should find a new job anything was bound to make her happier than her work at the ministry.

A couple hours later Hermione was sitting in the living room having just finished dinner. The whole Weasley clan was there and it was pure chaos and excitement. Hermione never had a large family so partaking in Weasley dinners was the greatest thing imaginable for her. Hermione was talking with Fleur, they had actually grown quite fond of each other over the years when they were interrupted by the twins.

"And what are you lovely ladies discussing tonight?" Fred asked as him and George stepped up to Hermione and Fleur.

Fleur giggled, "Nothing zat would interest you two I'm sure."

George nudged his twin, "I dunno I find it hard not to be interested when two gorgeous girls like these are together."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "What do you two want?"

"We were hoping to have a word with you actually." Fred said stepping up to her one side. George stepped up to her other and they steered her over to the stairwell where it was quiet.

"So my twin and I were having a discussion the other night." George began.

"About how you helped me out this weekend while George here was preoccupied." Fred glared at his twin but was smiling nonetheless.

"And we were rather impressed about how well you handled yourself."

"But I reminded him that you are the brightest witch pretty much ever." Fred winked at Hermione.

"And well we could use some help on the weekends..."

"Because George and Verity are actually going to be heading the store in London."

"So poor Freddy will be on his lonesome."

"Don't call me that Georgey-poo." Here Hermione stifled giggles.

"And we know you have a job at the ministry…"

"But we were hoping that maybe you'd help us…well me…out on the weekends." Fred finished quickly.

Hermione stood there stunned, this was her chance. This was her chance to get out of her crappy job and maybe she would find that she loved working at a joke shop. As odd as it would be for someone like her but the job does require lots of skills and she would certainly never be bored. Then again there were only offering her a job for the weekends.

Hermione bit her lip and the twins leaned forward anxiously, "On one condition."

"Anything!"

Hermione took a deep breath, "I want a full time position and I want to help with the inventions."

The twins look flabbergasted, "That's actually two conditions princess." Fred pointed out.

"Maybe she's not as bright as she seems." George teased.

"You can take it or leave it." Hermione stood her ground.

The twins turned to each other excitedly, imagine the stuff they would be able to come up with brains like hers. "We'll take it."

The twins once again got on either side of Hermione and marched her to the middle of the living room.

"Attention!" Fred called out.

"Attention!"

"We have some exciting news." Fred grinned.

"As you all know I'm going to be heading the London store." George paused waiting for people to cheer which they die after a few moments.

"And since he took our only employee I was left on my own at Hogsmeade."

"But never fear we have found a perfect partner for my slightly less-better looking twin." This time there was no pause in reaction from everyone else.

"She's brilliant."

"Has a prankster streak someone in her body."

"And is completely adorable." Fred added pinching Hermione's cheek which earned him a scowl.

"The one…"

"The only…"

"Hermione Granger!" the twins said excitedly.

Everyone froze in their place with shocked faces. Some of them chuckled thinking it was joke but soon they realized the three of them were being completely serious. After a few minutes everyone started to clap still in shock. George was pleased and left the other two to go find his girlfriend. Soon everyone began to do their own thing, Ginny, Harry and Ron were both waiting for Hermione to leave Fred's side so there could ask her about the job.

"So…you're serious about this?" Fred asked nervously.

"When am I not serious?" Hermione replied.

Fred grinned, "Well, I guess we won't be strangers anymore."

"I don't think so." Hermione grinned.

Hermione spent the rest of the night reassuring everyone that this was not a prank and she was going to be working at the shop with Fred. Once she convinced everyone they all congratulated her and the twins. It was a long night and Hermione crashed on the couch once she got home. The next morning she sent her owl, Wellington, to the ministry with a note saying that she would not be returning to work.


	4. Chapter 4

I would just like to take this time to thank everyone for reading and reviewing-it really does brighten my day! I'm always open to suggestion so feel free to leave me any ideas or if you would like to see something in the story.

**The Discovery **

It was finally Monday morning and that meant it was Hermione's first day at the shop. She woke up extra early and did her best to pick out a nice outfit even though Fred could care less about what she wore. In the end she chose to go with a pair of nice jeans a white t-shirt and a thick lavender sweater coat. She threw her curly hair into a ponytail with a few pieces framing her face. She grabbed her list off the table and shoved it into her bag before Apparating to Hogsmeade.

Upon her arrival she discovered that the closed sign was still up so she knocked. A few moments passed with no response. This time she knocked slightly harder. Again there was no response so she proceeded to pound on the door with both fists. She was now somewhere between worry and annoyance. Why had she agreed to this she asked herself. There was still no response so Hermione resorted to kicking the door almost immediately the door flew open and revealed Fred who had tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard.

"Oh my god Hermione you're hysterical." Fred said backing out of the way to late her in.

Instead Hermione crossed her arms and stood there pointedly, "Were you standing there this whole time?"

Fred quivered just slightly under Hermione's strict gaze it resembled that of his mother's, "Well, yeah but it was all in good fun, c'mon this is a joke shop after all."

Hermione shook her head and walked into the shop without a single word. Fred shrugged and shut the door behind her. Hermione was walking so briskly that she didn't notice the paper that had fallen out of her bag. Fred picked it up and glanced over it, "What are the Seven Wonders of the World?" he asked casually.

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, "What?" she spat out.

"It says here you want to see the Seven Wonders of the World." He said waving the paper at her.

"You weren't supposed to see that." She squealed leaping at him and taking the paper shoving it back into her bag.

Fred was amused and shocked by her quick movements, "So, you're not going to tell me what they are?"

Hermione was still red in the face, why was he so interested in this? "They're landmarks scattered throughout the world that are renowned for their innovation and majestic looks." Hermione spat out quickly still embarrassed that he saw her list.

Fred smiled his infamous lopsided grin, "Don't be embarrassed Granger I think it's cool you have a list of things you want to accomplish, it gives you something to live for." He walked past her winking.

Hermione stood frozen with a mix of embarrassment and stupidity. She didn't know why she wanted to hide this from everyone what would they care one way or the other about the list? Before she could think on it any longer Fred called her over. They opened the shop and Hermione spent most of the day working with the customers while Fred stocked the shelves. It was finally noon which meant lunch hour. Hermione took a seat on the counter and pulled out a sandwich she made. Meanwhile, Fred had disappeared upstairs to his flat before returning with a coat, "So, where should we eat?"

Hermione looked at him curiously with the sandwich up to her mouth, "I brought lunch."

Fred made a face, "C'mon that sandwich hardly qualifies as a meal." He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the countertop. As they made their way to the door he grabbed her sweater coat and handed it to her. Fred was walking surprisingly fast and Hermione was attempting to put her sweater on with only one arm and keep up with Fred.

"Frederick George Weasley, why are you walking so fast?" Hermione practically shrieked in the middle of the street. Her sudden stop had caused her to actually trip because Fred kept walking. She managed to bring Fred down right along with her.

Fred looked at her with an amused grin plastered on his face, Hermione was in front of him with a look of pure annoyance but she looked kind of cute in that disheveled sort of way with her sweater half on and her scowling face, "Why are you walking so slow?" he stood up, Hermione's hand still clasped in his, pulling her up along with him.

She was speechless and just opened and shut her mouth multiple times before finally shutting it and walking ahead of Fred. She dragged them into a new café that was about a block away from the store. They took their seats when they finally noticed their hands still comfortably clasped together. Hermione quickly withdrew hers hoping Fred wouldn't notice the blush creeping up her face. Thankfully for her Fred was hoping she wouldn't notice the blush that had started in his ears and was slowly getting redder.

Surprisingly the bookworm and the infamous prankster had a very enjoyable lunch hour. Hermione would never admit but she definitely preferred eating out to the pathetic little sandwich she packed. They caught up on each other's lives and what they had each been up to since the war. Hermione admitted that she did miss being able to use a wand and mix spells and 

that's why she was so eager to accept the proposition of working at the shop. Fred told her how he and George were finally becoming their own people and at first that scared him but he was starting to like just being Fred not "FredandGeorge".

The conversation took an unexpected turn when Fred asked Hermione if he could see the list again. Hermione was a little hesitant at first but passed the paper over to him in the end. Fred's eyes quickly scanned the paper smiling the whole way through, "This is really cool when did you do this?"

"Before I got accepted to Hogwarts, it was a school assignment."

"Wow so you've always had perfect handwriting." Fred teased with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I've always been an over achiever, I thought you would have known that." Hermione teased back.

Fred grinned, "Well, I certainly hope you accomplish all of this. Especially number one what more could you ask for in life than to fall in love?"

Hermione beamed at him, "Thank you Fred. I hope you find that too."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am thrilled to announce that my computer problems are (hopefully) a thing of the past and I can now update my fiction on a more regular basis. I am going to school and working full-time but I determined to get this story to its end-which it is currently far from. This is a pretty long chapter, it's my pathetic attempt to make up for being absent for so long. Well, without further ado I present chapter five of ****Hermione's To-Do List****. **

Bored Games

Hermione's first week at the shop was a very, very long one. Hermione and Fred worked everyday hour upon hour. By Wednesday they were already exhausted; she wondered how Fred and George had managed before. She was having a wonderful time though so she chose to ignore her exhaustion. Most of the week it was relatively quiet and they used that time to concoct potions and look for new hires. George and Verity were still around since the new store wouldn't be opening for a couple more weeks. The two were even kind enough to force Hermione and Fred to take the weekend off for some much needed rest.

That Friday Hermione and Fred were closing up shop together, "Any plans for the weekend off?" Fred asked casually.

Hermione shrugged, "Probably read over some applications, unpack a little more, nothing exciting."

Fred raised his eyebrow, "You do know that having a weekend off from work means that you shouldn't you know be working."

Hermione smiled, "It's just reading over applications nothing too intense. What about you?"

"Sadly, absolutely nothing." Fred frowned, "I think I'd rather be working."

"Aww, why don't you go with Lee or Angie or any of your friends from school?"

"Lee is on vacation in Peru with his girl and I don't really talk to Angie anymore." Fred looked down with a bit of embarrassment but since Hermione wasn't looking at him she didn't notice.

"Why not? Did something happen between the two of you?"

"Well, our last breakup was pretty rough so…you know…" Fred drifted off.

Hermione looked up at him with genuine concern, "I'm sorry Fred I didn't mean to pry."

Fred smiled and shrugged it off, "It's all in the past."

They worked in silence for the next fifteen minutes or so. Hermione was in the back room making sure the registers were properly counted out and closed. Fred eyed the paper with 

Hermione's list hanging out of her sweater pocket. He casually pointed his wand to it and it floated over slowly. He had scanned the list more times than he could count and was pretty sure he had memorized everything on it but he enjoyed reading it over and over again.

"You know you're incredibly nosey." Hermione said standing in front of him as he glanced over the list.

Fred chuckled, "There's nothing wrong with being interested in my coworker's life. My _favorite_ coworker nonetheless."

Hermione smiled, "I think I'm your only coworker." She pointed out.

Fred shrugged, "That's insignificant."

Hermione took the list from his hands and tucking it into her pocket said, "Well, I think we should be good to go now. The cash registers are counted out, the floor is full and the lab is clean."

Fred smiled, "Great, so now we can enjoy our weekend playing bored games."

"They're called board games, Fred-wait why do you want to play board games this weekend?" Hermione could not figure out where Fred had gotten the idea to play games from.

"Well, I condone working on your days off but you do have less than a year to accomplish the twenty three items left." As he said this he reached over and pulled the list out of her pocket shaking it in front of her face. Hermione almost blushed as Fred's hand brushed her waist as he pulled out the piece of paper.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh a little, "I really don't understand why you're so interested in this list." She bit her lower lip as she considered inviting Fred over to play board games this weekend.

He gave her a puppy dog face, "C'mon games are fun even though they're bored games and I've never played muggle games."

Hermione sighed, "Alright how bout you come over tomorrow at around noon?"

Fred beamed, "Sounds like a date."

Fred held the door open for Hermione as she walked out wondering what he meant by that last comment.

Later that night Ginny came over Hermione's apart to help her finish unpacking when she noticed a variety of thin boxes sitting on Hermione's coffee table. She walked over to them and read the tops, Monopoly, Apples to Apples and a variety of others.

"Hey, what's Mono-poly?" Ginny shouted to Hermione who was in another room.

Hermione poked her head around the corner, "You mean Monopoly?"

"Yeah, whatever." Ginny chuckled, "What is it?"

"It's a muggle game about money." Hermione tried to think of the best way to explain this to her best friend, "Every player gets fake money and they purchase fake pieces of land and the key is to try to be the only one left with money."

Ginny nodded slowly, "Why are all these games out on your coffee table?"

Hermione bit her lip once more, "Oh I have a friend coming over tomorrow to play." She darted back into her bedroom hoping to escape anymore questions.

Ginny, however, noticed Hermione's hesitation and knew that this was no ordinary friend coming over, "Hermione, do you have a boy coming over?" she teased as she walked into Hermione's bedroom. Hermione was lying on her bed with her hands over her face, "Oh my god you do have a boy coming over!" Ginny squealed excitedly.

Hermione removed her face from her hands and scowled at her friend, "It's not a date."

Ginny squealed even more, "It is a date! Who's it with, anyone I know?"

Meanwhile, Fred had just walked into his shared apartment where he found George relaxing on the couch. Fred walked happily into the kitchen ignoring the perturbed look on George's face.

"Good day, I take it?" George inquired.

"Why yes it was, my dear brother." Fred replied happily as he made himself a sandwich.

"I take it you now have plans for the weekend?" George knew that Fred was not looking forward to his weekend off because he didn't have anything to do and he's one to always keep himself preoccupied.

"How'd you guess?"

"It's that whole twin connection thing." George joked, "So, what are you doing?"

Fred walked into the living room and took a seat in the chair next to George, "Going over to Hermione's to play board games."

George raised both eyebrows at this remark, "You're hanging out with Hermione on your day off?"

Fred shrugged, "Yeah, what's so weird about that?"

"We've known for how many years now and I don't think I've ever seen you two spend this much time together, don't you think that's a bit strange?"

Fred shifted a little uncomfortably, "She's pretty cool, we get along well." Fred wished he could prevent his ears from turning red at this precise moment.

George's face broke out into a complete grin, "You fancy her a little don't you?"

"We're just friends."

Back at Hermione's place Ginny was seated on the edge of the bed trying to get Hermione to tell her who she was seeing tomorrow.

"C'mon Hermione just tell me who it is, I'm not one of the boys I won't make fun of you." Ginny told her seriously.

Hermione sighed and sat up facing the young red-head, "Alright I'll tell you but it's really not a date we're just hanging out." Ginny nodded, "I'm actually hanging out with Fred."

Ginny stared at her blankly before smiling a bit, "Hermione, you're not gonna get out of this so easy."

Hermione furrowed her brow, "I'm not lying Fred is coming over tomorrow to play bored- I mean board- games with me."

Ginny crossed her arms and stared at the older girl, she didn't look like she was lying, Ginny slowly lowered her arms, "Wow you're being serious."

"When am I not serious?" Hermione pointed out.

Ginny ignored Hermione's comment as flashes of her older brother and Hermione dating and getting married flashed before her, "I can't imagine a stranger couple but they do say opposites attract."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she got up, "We're not dating! I don't even like him."

Ginny raised her brows in a way that reminded Hermione of Fred, "You quit your job to work with him and now on your day off you've invited him over to play games."

"Well, he invited himself over I'll have you know. I had no intention of seeing him the entire weekend." Hermione replied huffily.

"You didn't say no though." Ginny pointed out, "And you've laid out a variety of outfits on your bed."

"So? What's wrong with looking nice?"

"There's nothing wrong with looking nice." Ginny replied.

Hermione smiled, "My thoughts exactly."

"Except for the fact that you never dress this nicely and you're now pulling out all these cute outfits for my prankster brother." Ginny grinned evilly.

"Ginny, I think you are reading far too much into this." Hermione said dragging the girl out of the bedroom.

Ginny shrugged, "Maybe you're not reading into it enough."

Ginny spent the next hour helping Hermione unpack and thought it wise to not pester Hermione anymore. Instead she chose to not talk about anything and to instead let Hermione think about everything with Fred. If Hermione was thinking about Fred Ginny was impressed with how well she was hiding it. Hermione was indeed thinking about Fred but was trying very hard to ignore any thought that involved the charming attractive red-head, especially any thoughts that involved the words charming or attractive.

Saturday finally rolled around and Hermione found herself wrapped in a towel staring at the clothes on her bed. She knew Ginny was right that she was putting way too much effort into picking out an outfit. First off this wasn't a date and secondly she was just hanging out with Fred. Her wet hair was sticking to her face and she was running behind schedule. It was already 11:45 and she was still only wearing a towel. She raced around pointing her wand at her hair so that it could dry while she decided on an outfit. In the end she picked a pair of dark wash flare jeans and a short-sleeved gathered v-neck top in a bright purple color. Just as she pulled on her shirt she could hear a knock at her door.

Fred was about to knock once more when the door opened revealing Hermione who looked a little disheveled, "Hi!" he said happily smiling at her.

Hermione smiled back and moved out of the way to let him in. This was one of the few times she saw Fred out of his robes and wearing muggle clothing. He was wearing a long sleeved button down shirt with a pair of jeans. Hermione couldn't help but think how nice he looked in the form fitting shirt. Fred, likewise, couldn't help but notice how the jeans and v-neck shirt hugged Hermione's slim body in all the right places. Both of them shook their heads hoping that would eliminate any of the potentially naughty thoughts.

Hermione cleared her throat, "So, um how are you?" Hermione walked briskly past him refusing to look at him and instead focusing on the floor.

Fred, however, was not as good at hiding and found himself staring at her backside, "Oh you know…"

Hermione turned around with peeked interest, "Well, no not really." They both stood there for a moment before laughing they didn't have this awkwardness at all throughout school and definitely not this last week so why should now be any different. After their initial awkwardness wore off Hermione showed Fred the many board games she came to own over the years. As they were picking through the boxes there was another knock at Hermione's door. Neither of them noticed this as they were both sitting on her couch laughing about a joke Fred told. There was a second louder knock which cause both of them to stop laughing and they looked at each other.

"Oh…you invited someone else?" Fred said with slight disappointment.

Hermione shook her head, "I have no idea who that is. The only person I told was…" Hermione remembered telling Ginny about the plans for today and was sure that Ginny was the person on the other side of the door. "Ginny."

Hermione got up and opened the door and sure enough Ginny and Harry were standing there with Butterbeer and an assortment of goodies. "Hi Ginny, hi Harry." Hermione said hugging her friends, "What are you guys doing here?"

Ginny walked past Hermione and saw Fred sitting on Hermione's couch with a box on his lap labeled Risk, "Oh, hi Fred I didn't know you would be here." She said with fake surprise.

"Hey Gin, what's going on?" Fred replied smiling at his baby sister seeing right through her phony shock. The siblings stared at each other smiling, attempting to read the other one. Hermione and Harry, took no notice of this and Hermione helped Harry bring the assortment of goodies into her kitchen.

"What brings the two of you over?" Hermione asked, "Not that I'm not thrilled to see the two of you." Harry smiled at her.

"Oh well you mentioned the bored-" Ginny started.

"Board games." Hermione and Harry corrected her.

"Yeah those things." Ginny said waving her hand, "And I told Harry about it and he said that they're supposed to be a lot of fun and he never got to play them when he was younger so we thought we'd drop by and join you and Fred. That's alright isn't it?"

Hermione smiled, "Of course, the more the merrier."

The group settled down in Hermione's living room and had an incredibly fun day playing everything from Monopoly to Risk. Fred was surprisingly good at Risk and Monopoly but Hermione beat everyone when it came to Scrabble while Harry and Ginny owned Uno (even 

though it's not a board game Hermione still brought it out). After a few hours of games they put the boxes away to enjoy some Butterbeer and some of the baked goods that Ginny brought over.

They didn't pay attention to how many Butterbeers (as well as other alcoholic beverages) they consumed and soon the small gathering went to a whole new level. They attempted more board games but were unsuccessful as they kept on forgetting whose turn it was and the majority of the rules. Later on in the night Hermione's living room floor was covered with empty bottles. Soon Harry and Ginny were having a songfest on one of Hermione's chairs while Hermione and Fred were relaxing on the couch.

"I guess these are bored games." Fred teased looking at Ginny and Harry.

Hermione raised her brows, "That was very lame Fred Weasley."

Fred pretended to be hurt but both of them burst out laughing. Hermione was not one to drink much and she quickly found herself feeling very queasy.

"I'm going to vomit."

"You're funny Hermi-one." Fred laughed.

"I'm not joking." Hermione said as she leaned forward and vomited all over Fred's lap. The duo remained on the couch even as bits and pieces of vomit dribbled down Fred's lap and onto the floor. Fred was suddenly not as drunk as he was before and put his hand up to Hermione's forehead checking for a fever. She didn't have one so Fred was sure that in a few moments she'd be feeling better. Fred pulled his wand out and cleaned up the mess. After the he pulled the hunched over Hermione next to him and let her rest her head on his chest.

"Mmm." She murmured as she cuddled up to Fred. Fred laid his head down on top of hers and that is how they slept.

**So that brings us to the end of this very, very long chapter. I introduced some subconscious attraction on the part of Hermione and Fred. And that should hopefully get the ball rolling on their relationship. Hermione has also accomplished another task on her list-so what should the next one be? I love hearing suggestions so feel free to give one ******


End file.
